This invention relates generally to HVAC systems for use in typically, commercial facilities and like applications and more particularly, to an improved HVAC, air partition member and air passageway system for such facilities.
Raised floors are commonly employed in commercial facilities such as offices, computer rooms and stock exchanges. A typical raised floor system consists of a series of floor panels supported at a pre-determined height above the sub-floor by vertical pedestals. The floor panels are supported by stringers which run between the pedestals to form a grid-like system. The raised floor serves as the working floor for the facility. The space between the raised floor and the sub-floor is used to accommodate heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC); electrical cables; fiber optic lines; pipes; and other utility services for the facility. Openings are formed in the raised floor to access the various services at desired locations. Organizing the utility services in pre-determined routes below the raised floor is advantageous because it provides a clean and uncluttered working space on the raised floor.
In some cases, the entire volume below the raised floor acts as a plenum or passageway for purposes of providing the HVAC requirements. Other configurations include individual plenums defined by two vertical sides; plenums including a third, horizontal side parallel to and immediately below the raised floor itself; and four sided systems. The present invention is an improved two-sided plenum, which utilizes the raised floor and sub-floor to define the horizontal planes of the plenum.
Heretofore, in plenum systems employing vertical sides, there have been at least three interfaces of the forming elements where appropriate sealing, typically accomplished by so-called duct tap or caulking is necessary to minimize leakage. One such system includes plenum baffle plates disposed between an angle bracket secured to the sub-floor and a formed right angle piece at the top of the baffle xe2x80x9cplatexe2x80x9d which was secured to the pedestal plate just below the raised floor. Caulking or the use of duct tape is required to seal the interface between the angle bracket and the floor and the angle bracket and the vertical plenum. Typically, gasket-like material is interposed between the formed right section at the top of the vertical baffle, and the raised floor to seal that seam.
In another configuration, two, formed baffle plates substantially identical in shape are employed (see FIG. 3). Each baffle plate (62, 64) includes a vertically disposed first section (66, 68) and an angled section (70, 72). They are mated back to back along their vertical sections. The respective angled section meets either with the sub-floor surface or the under surface of the raised floor. Again pedestal adhesive or other sealing technique sometimes combined with a concrete fastener between the angled plate portion and the sub-floor are used. Gasket-like material is interposed between the angled section of the top element of the plenum and undersurface of the raised floor. The angled section of the upper baffle plate typically is secured to the stringer member using pop rivets. The juncture between the two vertically extending plates is then sealed typically using duct tape and reinforced using pop rivets. Again, in order to be efficient, three mating seams have to be sealed. To compensate for the variations in surface planarity of the sub-floor which can vary up to at least two inches, at the vertically extending plates of a respective pair of baffle plates align themselves to reflect the actual finished floor height above the concrete surface at that specific location before they are taped together.
In certain cases the raised floor panels have to be modified to enhance the seal at the interface between their undersurface and the baffle plates.
The relatively, permanent installation techniques utilized to position, secure and enhance the seals of prior art techniques increase the costs of installation and inhibit the flexibility of altering the paths of such systems.
Another preferable feature of such systems is to standardized the various, partition member components to thereby enable modularization of the passageway design. This allows the system designer to easily alter and optimize the design during the initial layout, as well as later on when changes are required.
It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide an air partition member suitable for HVAC air passageways which has only two interfaces that must be sealed; that is between the partition member and the sub-floor and between the partition member and the raised floor undersurface, with no horizontal seam in the vertically extending section of the air partition member which defines the sidewall of the passageway.
There is still another object to this invention to provide a series of standard sized and configured shapes which will accommodate practically any air passageway design as may be dictated by a given customer""s requirement.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an air partition member which avoids the need for drilling into, or otherwise anchoring to, or altering either the sub-floor or the raised floor undersurface.
Still yet another object of the present invention to provide an air partition member which by design accommodates the lack of planarity typically experienced along the surface of the sub-floor.
It is still another object of this invention to provide an air partition member that can be employed using existing pedestal-stringer systems.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide an air partition member that conserves manufacturing time and material.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide an air duct passageway system for use below raised floor systems that improves upon the efficiency of HVAC systems by eliminating the horizontal seam in the vertically extending air partition member.
It is but another object of this invention to provide an air duct passageway for use below artificial floor systems that is fool-proof and saves installation time.
It is yet an additional object of his invention to provide an air duct passageway that is easy to maintain and reposition to accommodate desired changes in system layout.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following description and upon reference to the accompanying drawings.
A one-piece partition member for use in forming an air passageway in an HVAC system, between a top surface of a sub-floor, the top surface having an irregular contour, and an undersurface of a raised floor positioned on a pedestal-stringer, floor support system is claimed. The air partition member includes a first section which is substantially rectangular in shape.
The member includes a second section, integral with and having a pivotal connection to the first section along a bend line. The second section bears a first angular relationship to the plane of the first section. The member further includes a third section integral with the first section along a dividing line. When the air partition member is in place, the third section extends upward from the second section. The third section includes a first segment, distal from the dividing line and extending substantially, laterally, between the lateral edges of the member. This first segment is adapted and contoured for engagement of at least one of the pedestal or stringer portions of the pedestal-stringer floor support system, to thereby suspend the air partition member substantially vertically between the top surface of the sub-floor and the undersurface of the raised floor. The third section includes a second segment, which is contoured as a pleat and thus adaptable to adjust the vertical height of the air partition member so as to compensate for the effect of the irregular planarity of the top surface of the sub-floor. This compensation is principally directed to the large variations that may occur over an entire work site, for example, xc2x12 inches about nominal.
The second section is also adapted to contact the top surface of the sub-floor and to compensate for the effect of the irregular planarity of the top surface of the sub-floor by flexing about the pivotal connection. This compensation addresses the relatively minor variations in the sub-floor planarity experienced between pedestals.
The basic air partition member can be shaped and contoured in both the second and third section, to allow for the mating therewith of a second air partition member when used together to form an inside or outside corner of the air passageway.
The air partition members include integral clip means for securing the air partition member to the pedestal so as to prevent bowing of the air partition member when the air partition member is positioned vertically between the top surface of the sub-floor and the under surface of the raised floor and when said HVAC system is operational.
As required, any one air partition member of any of the various designs can include a cutout portion intended to allow air to exit from the air passageway when the HVAC system is operational.
As required, any one air partition member of any of the various designs can include a cutout to allow for the passage of electrical wires or the like through the air partition member, and across the formed air passageway.
Air partition members are used to form an air passageway for an HVAC system. The passageway is defined by the top surface of the sub-floor and the undersurface of the raised floor positioned on the pedestal-stringer, floor support system. The air partition members of the present invention are used to form the two vertical sides of the passageway, which are spaced apart from each other a fixed distance.